Etymologically
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warm

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Pronunciation

  • IPA: UK /wɔːm/, US /wɔːrm/[1]

Etymology

It is inherited from Middle English warme,[2] inherited from Old English wearm (“moderately hot”),[3][2][4] from Proto-Germanic *warmaz,[3][2][4] which is also the source of Old Saxon, Old Frisian, Dutch and German warm, Old Norse varmr and Gothic warmjan “to warm”.[3][2] It is a word of uncertain origin:[3] it is usually derived from Proto-Indo-European *gʷher- (“hot”), the root of Greek thermós “hot”, Latin formus “warm” and Sanskrit gharmá- “heat”,[3][2][5][6] but it may instead be connected with Old Church Slavonic goriti “to burn” and varŭ “heat”.[3] The verb comes partly from Old English wyrman “to make warm” and partly from wearmian “to become warm”.[3][2][5] It is related to thermal and thermometer.[6]

Earliest recorded meaning

Of the weather, air or climate, moderately hot: about 888 in the OED.[7] Barnhart dates wearm to before 899, in Alfred's translation of Boethius.[2]

Semantic evolution

The use of distinct words for degrees of heat, warm and hot, is general in Balto-Slavic and Germanic, while elsewhere one word often covers both, as Greek thermós and Latin calidus.[3] Of the body, having its natural heat, it is from before 1000.[7] “Comfortable, securely established” is from the 14th century,[4] and of feelings, “ardent, full of zeal”, from the late 15th century,[3] with “cordial, tender” from the 15th century in Hoad.[4] A warm kiss is from 1588.[7] “Comfortably off” is from the 16th century.[4] Of colours it is from 1764.[3] In guessing games, “close to what is sought”, it is from 1860, probably from earlier hunting use of a scent or trail (1713).[3] Warm-blooded of mammals is from 1793,[3] and the proverb cold hands, warm heart from the early 20th century.[6] The warming pan for beds is from the 1570s.[3] warmth is from the 12th century.[4]

Timeline

  • c. 888 – of the weather.[7]
  • 12th century – warmth.[4]
  • before 1200 – verb.[2]
  • late 15th century – ardent.[3]
  • 1570s – warming pan.[3]
  • 1764 – of colours.[3]
  • 1793 – warm-blooded.[3]
  • 1860 – close, in guessing games.[3]

Modern meaning

Adjective

  1. Moderately hot; giving or holding a comfortable heat.
  2. Having the natural heat of living beings.
  3. Keeping in heat: warm clothes.
  4. Friendly, kind and affectionate.
  5. Of colours, suggesting heat, such as red or orange.
  6. Close to finding or guessing something.

Verb

  1. To make or become warm.
  2. To fill with pleasant feelings: it warmed my heart.
  3. warm up: to prepare for exercise or a performance.

Word family

  • warmer
  • warmish
  • warmly
  • warmness
  • warm-blooded
  • lukewarm
  • warmhearted
  • warm-up
  • warmth
  • thermal
  • thermometer
  • thermos

References

  1. ^ Jones, Daniel (2011), Cambridge English Pronouncing Dictionary, 18th ed., ed. Peter Roach, Jane Setter and John Esling, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Barnhart, Robert K. (1988), The Barnhart Dictionary of Etymology
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Harper, Douglas. Online Etymology Dictionary, https://www.etymonline.com
  4. ^ a b c d e f g Hoad, T. F., ed. (1986), The Concise Oxford Dictionary of English Etymology, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  5. ^ a b Merriam-Webster Unabridged Dictionary (2024), online ed., Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster
  6. ^ a b c Cresswell, Julia (2021), Oxford Dictionary of Word Origins, 3rd ed., Oxford: Oxford University Press
  7. ^ a b c d Simpson, J. A.; Weiner, E. S. C., eds. (1989), The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd ed., Oxford: Clarendon Press